ON THE TRACKS This weekend’s events

NASCAR NEXTEL CUP

LifeLock 400

Site: Kansas City, Kan.

Schedule: Today, qualifying (ESPN2, 4 p.m.); Sunday, race (ABC, 1 p.m.).

Track: Kansas Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles, 15 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 400 miles, 267 laps.

Last race: Carl Edwards’ victory at Dover was marred by a failed post-race inspection that cost him 25 points in the standings. The penalty drops Edwards from third in the Chase for the championship standings to sixth. He’s now 28 points behind series leader Jeff Gordon.

Last year: Tony Stewart gambled on fuel mileage and barely crawled across the finish line to win the Banquet 400 race at Kansas Speedway. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson tried to play it safe to remain in championship contention, giving up the race lead to pit for an extra splash of fuel with four laps to go. But he was penalized for speeding on pit road and finished 14th. Gordon was running eighth when his car developed an apparent fuel-pressure problem with 29 laps remaining. He finished 39th.

Fast facts: Gordon leads Stewart by two points in the standings and Johnson by four. ... Edwards’ win was the 100th for owner Jack Roush, who was also docked 25 points for the failed inspection. Roush, who started with Ford Racing in 1988, won his first career race with Mark Martin on Oct. 22, 1989. ... Denny Hamlin, who won the Busch race last weekend, placed 38th at Dover — the worst of all Chase drivers — and is stuck in 12th place in the standings, effectively ending his bid for a championship. ... Gordon is the only driver with multiple wins at Kansas (2001-02), but he finished 39th in last year’s race. ... Juan Pablo Montoya has a 13-point lead over David Ragan in the Rookie of the Year race.

Next race: UAW-Ford 500, Oct. 7, Talladega, Ala.

On the Net: http://www.nascar.com

NASCAR BUSCH

Yellow Transportation 300

Site: Kansas City, Kan.

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 11 a.m.), race (ESPN2, 3:30 p.m.).

Track: Kansas Speedway (tri-oval, 1.5 miles, 15 degrees banking in turns).

Race distance: 300 miles, 200 laps.

Last race: Denny Hamlin shook off an illness and found the energy to dominate and win the caution-filled race at Dover International Speedway, his third victory of the season.

Last year: Kevin Harvick held off Matt Kenseth in a green-white-checkered shootout at Kansas Speedway. Harvick’s victory in a caution-filled Yellow Transportation 300 also made him the first Busch driver to win seven races in a season since Dale Earnhardt Jr. did it en route to the 1998 title. Harvick had five victories when he won the title in 2001.

Fast facts: Carl Edwards upped his lead in the standings to 754 points over David Reutimann after finishing sixth at Dover. ... Jason Keller will try to qualify for his 417th career race, which would tie the career record set by Tommy Houston. ... Tony Raines was fined $15,000 and docked 25 points on Tuesday for throwing his helmet at Robby Gordon. Raines was angry that Gordon had knocked him out of last weekend’s race, and he waited on the track for Gordon to pass by under caution. He then hurled his helmet at Gordon. ... There have been six different winners in as many Busch races at Kansas.

Next race: Dollar General 300, Oct. 12, Concord, N.C.

On the Net: http://www.nascar.com

FORMULA ONE

Japanese Grand Prix

Site: Suzuka

Schedule: Saturday, qualifying (Speed Channel, 1 a.m.); Sunday, race (Speed Channel, Midnight).

Track: Fuji Speedway (2.856 miles, 13 turns).

Race distance: 190 miles, 67 laps.

Last race: Kimi Raikkonen dominated from start to finish to win the Belgian Grand Prix on Sept. 16 for the third straight time, beating Ferrari teammate Felipe Massa. World champion Fernando Alonso took third ahead of McLaren teammate Lewis Hamilton to reduce the rookie’s lead in the standings to two points with three races remaining.

Last year: Alonso won the Japanese Grand Prix, while Michael Schumacher dropped out on the 37th lap with a blown engine.

Fast facts: Accused of using leaked secret data from its main rival Ferrari, the McLaren team was hit with a record $100 million fine on Sept. 13 by the World Motor Sport Council in the biggest scandal to hit auto racing’s premier circuit. Although McLaren drivers Hamilton and Alonso escaped punishment, the team was stripped of its constructors’ points. McLaren decided against appealing the sanctions. ... Raikkonen, who won the 2005 event, is third in the standings with 84 points, while and Massa sits fourth with 77. ... India will hold its first Formula One race in 2010, the head of the Indian Olympic Association announced on Sept. 17.

Next race: Chinese Grand Prix, Oct. 7, Shanghai.

On the Net: http://www.formula1.com